25 January 2011

It's not all idyllic beaches. And it shouldn't be. All those glossy magazines aimed at people who collect beautiful beach destinations and pretentious lists of the world's best this and that (and you know who you are Travel + Leisure and Conde Nast Traveler and Islands) aren't for people who are out to see the world as it is.

It's refreshing to have run across two seperate blog posts this past week that run counter to the cliché. In Heaven and Hell in the Phi Phi Islands, Patrick Smith takes to task a lovely spot on the Andaman Sea that he writes has been ruined by backpackers.

I'm sure he's right. We passed through Phi Phi in 1995 and completely loved it. But even in 1995 the little isthmus of land adjacent to the arrival docks was showing signs of coming ruin. Smith suggests that in the intervening fifteen years, Thai tourism officials have used the light touch that has made Pattaya all that it is today. In 1995, at least, Phi Phi was beautiful:

The other refreshingly honest article is called The Tragedy of Nepal 2011, in which Andrew Hyde finds "a developing nation with deep problems becoming worse by the month with tourism hastening the poisoning of the well." We writes that "A deep depression hit me about an hour into my visit to Nepal and lasted for the first two weeks."

We've been in Nepal twice. The first time we were charmed by the country but alarmed by the pollution that hung over the Kathmandu valley. The second time we stayed at Nagarkot (described this way, "At an elevation of 2,195 meters, it is considered one of the most scenic spots ... renowned for its sunrise view of the Himalaya including Mount Everest as well as other snow-capped peaks of... eastern Nepal.") and never saw a single mountain through the haze.

Everyone knows the developing world has its problems. Seeing them shouldn't ruin your travel experience. To the contrary, when you're back home it's most rewarding to have gone and seen and to be able to understand. I salute Patrick Smith and Andrew Hyde for their honesty.

(On the other hand, if I picked one of those expensive, delicious Aman Resorts (1, 2) out of one of those glossy magazines, I wouldn't want it to rain while I was there, either.)

19 May 2010

You just won't see Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej's name in print without the
words "revered" or "beloved" attached. Unfortunately, when the country could use a big dollop of his moral authority, at 82, King Bhumiphol is incommunicado, in the hospital since September.

We've worried over what's happening today in Bangkok and elsewhere in Thailand since the king became ill, writing since last September in articles like Dark
Clouds and Fraught
Moment for a Fragile Nation that the good people of Thailand are among the kindest on the
planet, their country is beautiful and their food is delicious, and we continue to hope for the best.

13 December 2009

Embedded in an otherwise serious article in the New York Times about an impounded cargo plane and apparent arms sales by North Korea:

"The crew was detained and the cargo confiscated but not immediately.
The crew had enough time to buy six large bottles of beer at a
duty-free shop, which were confiscated from them in the detention
center where they are now being kept."

11 December 2009

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak and his counterpart Abhisit Vejjajiva from Thailand did one of those things politicians do, along with presiding over commissions, launching initiatives and kissing babies - they held a ceremony, this time to "name a bridge" that spans their border.

But this wasn't just a bridge. The newly christened Friendship Bridge connects predominantly Muslim Malaysia with a predominantly Muslim area of otherwise Buddhist Thailand that has seen a continuing low-grade separatist violence for years. (Here's some background.)

Nothing like a traveling pack of officials to turn up the heat. Ten have died since Monday, with more than a dozen wounded including three soldiers who inadvertently set off a bomb in Yala province, according to Australia Network News. Elsewhere a patrol protecting teachers was attacked and political banners were booby-trapped with bombs. In all, the Australian story reports five bombs wounded fourteen during the Prime Ministers' visit.

Or, says the Malaysia Star, four bombs exploded in Yala on Wednesday killing a policeman and wounding three officials. Or, if you prefer Malaysia's Bernama, two were killed by nine bombs during the visit.

The tourist trade seems to purr right along in a universe parallel from the violence. I'm not aware of any related violence reaching the Malaysian resort of Langkawi (the Four Seasons there looks fabulous, but that's more of a topic for When Money Doesn't Matter) or an array of Thai resorts, at Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi and elsewhere. All these vacation spots are within, say, a little over a hundred miles of the conflict.

We traveled - without incident - on that E&O train a few years back. We were interested whether there would be any acknowledgment of potential danger from the E&O crew. Not a peep. "Studied avoidance" by the crew. "Complete lack of local knowledge" by most of our fellow passengers.

(Top photo from Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, about 200 kilometers - 124 miles - from the border. Bottom, the Eastern and Oriental Express. Both from EarthPhotos.com. For more photography see the Thailand Gallery and the Malaysia Gallery at EarthPhotos.com.)

07 December 2009

With articles like Dark Clouds and Fraught Moment for a Fragile Nation, we've worried over Thailand's fate as its King Bhumipol has been hospitalized since September. The king rallied from Siriraj Hospital to travel to the Amarin Winitchai Throne Hall in Bangkok's Grand Palace, where he addressed his subjects Saturday on his 82nd birthday.

“My happiness comes from the development, security and
normalcy of the nation,” the king said in a brief response to
well-wishers broadcast on television. He asked the nation’s
officials and people to perform their duties “for the benefit
of the nation.”

The AP notes that these were the monarch's first public comments since being hospitalized.

As the Bangkok Post writes, "After the king delivered his address he returned by motorcade to Siriraj Hospital."

As we've said before, the good people of Thailand are among the kindest on
the planet, their country is beautiful and their food is delicious, and
besides genuine grief when their king dies, the last thing they need is
what just might happen next.

01 October 2009

"The National News Bureau broadcast, 'The Committee of Royal Physicians reported that His
Majesty's general condition had greatly improved. He is currently able to
consume more of his food and sleep better while his body temperature has
returned to normal. His Majesty continues to receive physical therapy,
intravenous nourishment and antibiotics.'

"Based on the above, he nearly died and probably is not fully
conscious. They would have said."

22 September 2009

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest serving monarch, is 81, and you just won't see his name in print without the words "revered" or "beloved" attached.

Recent coups, riots, the slow-grinding Muslim rebellion in the south, and the positively simmering political climate in Bangkok make this a story to watch closely, with trepidation.

Just last Saturday former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra marked the third anniversary of his exile by imploring supporters via video, "Give me
just six months as prime minister, and I will bring this country back to
normal.”

The Telegraph reports (incredibly) that last month, King Bhumibol warned that
Thailand could "collapse" unless its feuding political parties put
aside their differences.

Events at the weekend, including Thaskin's speech at his supporters' Bangkok protest and a clash at a temple on the Cambodian border, had Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva pleading in a national address, "We can express different opinions, but please don't hurt each other."

*****

You couldn't write this about the coming royal succession inside Thailand because of Thailand's lese-mageste laws, usually described as among the toughest in the world, but the building storm also bears watching because every description you'll ever read has a variation on "The Crown Prince does not have the moral authority of his father," or "The Prince is not yet ready to assume power."

The Times reports that the Prince "has been married three times
and in the past two years scandalous film footage has been distributed on
the Internet and on clandestine CDs, featuring him and his current wife,
Princess Srirasmi."

*****

It may not be time for King Bhumibol to leave Thailand, but that time is coming. The good people of Thailand are among the kindest on the planet, their country is beautiful and their food is delicious, and besides genuine grief when their king dies, the last thing they need is what just might happen next.

*****

King Bhumibol was "put on antibiotics and an intravenous drip after
suffering fever, tiredness and loss of appetite," says The Times.

The Crown Prince was born in 1953 and is the King's only son. Photo of Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, the Royal Son and Crown Prince of Siam and Princess Srirasmi from Wikimedia.

20 July 2009

After a few relaxing days on the fine sand of a tropical Thai beach, like the one on Koh Phi Phi pictured at right, the last thing you'd want is to get caught up in this scam the BBC describes, which they seem to suggest is being run with police collusion at Bangkok's new Suvarnabhumi airport.

16 June 2009

The United States Department of State pays a twenty per cent "hardship differential" above its basic rate of compensation to employees based in Thailand but outside Bangkok and Chiang Mai (where they get an extra ten per cent). The photo is from a beach on Koh Samui, which is outside Bangkok and Chiang Mai.

13 April 2009

With the Thai people again ateachothers'throats (running updates here via Bangkok's Nation newspaper), perhaps it's better
to picture Thailand the way most visitors experience it - like in this
photo of a beach on an uninhabited islet off Koh Samui.

As governments around the world react to the return of violence in Thailand with travel warnings, the tourism industries in neighboring Cambodia, Laos & Vietnam stand to benefit.

In Laos, the emerging showplace is the ancient royal capital of the Lan
Xang Kingdom, Luang Prabang, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the Mekong River. The introduction of scheduled air service a few years ago has eliminated the need for a long overland trek or, as we experienced in 2000, a long float in from upstream, at the Thai border north of Chiang Rai.

Direct flights have brought other changes. In 2000 a tall cold Beer Lao in Luang Prabang would come with a big smile and change back from your dollar. Nowadays you can spend just shy of USD$500 a night for lodging.

02 April 2009

Thailand and Cambodia have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately, with troops facing off at a temple on their border, and this can't help. The Phnom Penh Postreports that Cambodian
Prime Minister Hun Sen claims Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya referred to Hun Sen as a "gangster."

No no no, the Foreign Minister replied. To the contrary, he didn't mean "gangster" at all. Instead he intended to praise Hun Sen as ‘sportsmanlike" and "big-hearted," "generous" and "manly." It was just a mistranslation.

03 March 2009

The letter at left (click for a bigger copy) was distributed among the consular community of Hong Kong and Macau. It was issued from the Burmese consulate there, by a Burmese diplomat named Ye Myint Aung.

It describes a Muslim ethnic minority in western Burma, a people called Rohingyas, as “dark brown” and as “ugly as ogres.”

And this is from a diplomat.

Burma's military government denies the Rohingyas are Burmese, claiming they are migrant Bangladeshis instead. According to the Bangkok Post, "Rights groups say the Rohingya are stateless and face religious and
ethnic persecution from the Burmese military regime, forcing thousands
to take to rickety boats each year in a bid to escape poverty and
oppression."

The Post further notes, "Thailand's military was accused in January of towing hundreds of
Rohingya out to sea in poorly equipped boats with scant food and water
after they tried to flee Burma, a charge Thailand has 'categorically
denied'."

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